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Here, gathered in our beloved South Dakota, are a few members of our Williamson / Mattson Clan. Charles and Luella are to be blamed (be kind, they didn't know what they were doing). We're generally a happy bunch and somewhat intelligent (notwithstanding our tenuous grasp on reality). I'm also proud to say that most of us still have our teeth.

Friday, August 27, 2010

Hello All,Thought you might be interested in reading about Chandler's experiences in China. As you recall from a previous post, Chandler is spending the next several months teaching English in a Chinese school deep in the midlands of China.This story involves shopping.

Chandler writes:

So, in Beijing we have been able to do all the fun touristy stuff and it's been really fun. I've seen the Great Wall, Forbidden City, Summer Palace, Kung Fu and Acrobat shows, but the craziest experience was when I went to the Markets. So, in China they have markets, which are big 4-6 story buildings filled every inch with knock off merchandise. They set it up so that each booth is only a couple feet long, filled to the top with things to buy. There is a story for jewelery, story for purses and bags, then shoes, makeup perfume, sunglasses, coats, clothes... everything!

So when we go, you walk in and all of a sudden all you hear are broken english phrases such as "Lady, Lady! purse? watch? bag?" Also in China there is no "personal space". They can touch you all they want, and take advantage of it. So as we walk down the small isles, they reach out and grab you, yelling lady, or friend. So these chinese ladies, sometimes men, play the best game with their bargaining. They have calculators, and they say without fail everytime, "beautiful lady, since you are student, and you are my friend, i will give you this price. good price, good price" Then i say too much, they say, "your killing me, or they ask, are you stupid?or are you crazy? " haha. This continues until we get things for almost 1/5 less then when they started. I was having fun, and got a couple things. Then I tried to get True Religion Jeans. The lady was nice and joked around with me in the beginning. I was naming prices, then realized that I said too much after talking to my friend. She got SOO mad. She grabbed my wrist hard and walked me to the back and yelled and yelled. She was saying. "You lied. I hate you. I want to kill you, I'm going to kill you." and repeated this, while hurting me for about five min's. I stayed calm, but i was so scared. I just kept saying, "your hurting me, i dont want your pants. Let me go". My friends came to help saying Bu Yuo, Bu Yuo, but she just hit them with her stupid calculator. Finally they distracted her enough that she let up on my wrist and we ran! Scariest thing ever!! It didnt stop me from shopping, but I realized how important it is to not be alone. Just so you guys know, that was just because those ladies are supposed to be like that, thats the only way they get money. China is so wonderful and I never feel too unsafe like that. Let me know how you guys are doing!!!

Warning! Please Read On.

Tracing one's genealogy can be a tricky endeavor. Once you move past three or four generations, the information you discover on the internet may or may not be accurate. What you read on this blog represents the best I've found using Ancestry.com, The LDS Church's Family Search, and Google. Corrections are gladly welcome. Please send your information to AnAmericanDynasty@gmail.com

I'm interested in information on two family lines in particular.

I'm searching for our Vercellino family from Northern Italy and our Mattson /Tornberg family in Sweden. Again, you can reach me at AnAmericanDynasty@gmail.com